


Audience Participation Not Required

by uofmdragon



Series: Ultimate Spider-man Shorts [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (2012), Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: Clint and Natasha being BFFs, M/M, Midtown High, Natasha has a plan, School Play, Spider-man Unmasked
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-08
Updated: 2013-03-08
Packaged: 2017-12-04 16:28:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/712731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uofmdragon/pseuds/uofmdragon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha drags Clint to Midtown High to take in the school play and also to get Clint to talk to Phil.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Audience Participation Not Required

**Author's Note:**

> This is a coda for Season 1, Episode 21, _I am Spider-man_. Beta'd by Pyroblaze18.

Clint slipped into the crowded auditorium just as the doors were closing, with Natasha right behind him. Clint grabbed a playbill as Natasha slipped past him to get a decent spot to stand and watch. The auditorium was packed, but with Natasha's 'accidental' elbowing, they found a corner where they could see the whole of the auditorium. 

Natasha had insisted on going to the Midtown school play, but had refused to give any details about it. The auditorium was packed and when Clint discovered that it was a musical about Spider-man he wasn't too surprised. Spidey was proving to be pretty popular, despite the Daily Bugle’s headlines and J. Jonah Jameson's attempts to portray him as a villain.

The lights were starting to dim, but Clint was able to read that this was in fact written by a high school student, and it was directed, produced and had music all by Phil Coulson. His... god, he didn't even know what they were anymore... co-workers? friends? There was no way they could be lovers, not when they had barely spoken.

"Phil's involved in this?" Clint hissed at Natasha.

"Yes," Natasha stated. "Why else do you think I would drag you here?"

"I don't know..." Clint groaned.

"Well, I think you should talk to him," Natasha said. "Watch the play, congratulate him on a job well done afterwards."

Clint sighed, sinking deeper into the shadows as he scanned the audience for Phil, because the man had to be here. There was no way that Phil wouldn't be here, not if he was directing/producing and oh, hey he was also conducting the orchestra in the pit? What High School auditorium had a pit for musicians? Clint suspected that it had been funded by SHIELD, but he didn't know it for sure.

Still, he couldn't help but admire the way Phil filled out the suit. The man looked good and didn't seem to be suffering at all from the lack of Clint's attention. Maybe this was for the best, Phil had always been too good for him. 

The play finally got started with three of the Frightful Four showing up and then Spider-man, followed by The Trapster. Clint's eyes narrowed as he took in Trapster...

"That's the real Trapster," he said softly, reaching for Natasha's purse. He had a gun under his coat as did Natasha, but there was also a small arrow gun in her purse along with one of her Widow's Bite gauntlets.

"We need to get the audience out of here," Natasha agreed, looking around and trying to figure out how to accomplish that as Spider-man was tossed into the pit.

"What are you doing Coulson?" Clint growled when Spider-man bounced back on stage and Phil continued playing. 

"Wait," Natasha said, grabbing his hand. "Let's see what the kid can do."

"People could get hurt," Clint reminded her.

"Only if it boils over into the audience, which will happen if there is a panic," Natasha pointed out. "The kid is pretending to be a pretender."

Clint considered and he had to agree, the kid was using the ropes instead of his own webs. It was impressive, especially when the kid actually managed to beat to the Trapster. He could see words being exchanged between Spidey and Coulson, he could see the tension in the line of Coulson's back that came from being disobeyed. Clint loved to get him wound up and make him come undone. Finally, Spidey pulled off his facemask to reveal Peter Parker.

"Smart," Natasha muttered softly

"Yeah," Clint agreed with a slight grin, because no one would look twice at him now. The audience turned on the poor kid, demanding the actual star instead of the understudy, who eventually made his appearance and gave a decent speech. Then he started singing..

Clint winced as Natasha's nose wrinkled upwards, "Ugh, horrible."

"Very," Clint agreed as he watched the kid go over to Trapster and say something. He grinned, yeah, that was it—torture the villain with the kid's singing. Clint glanced at Natasha, before indicating that maybe they should get out of here? Natasha nodded and they slipped through the crowd, grateful to step into the empty hallways and have a wall and a door between them and the caterwauling.

"I would say that you should stay and talk to Phil, but that would mean enduring more of that noise," Natasha said, "So I will excuse this one."

"Thanks," Clint said.

"You can thank me by taking me out for dinner," Natasha said.

"Sure," Clint agreed, offering her his arm. She scoffed, but she took it, smiling when she didn't think he was looking. Clint stepped outside, grinning, "You know, I kind of wonder what that play would have been like if it hadn't been interrupted by a supervillain."

"Coulson is good at just about everything he does," Natasha pointed out.

"Think this was one of the few things he was bad at?" Clint asked.

"I don't think we'll ever know unless we can get our hands on a script," Natasha stated, pausing and looking back at the building.

"Dinner and then a little B and E?" Clint suggested as he looked for a couple of places he thought they could use to get in.

"Sounds like fun," Natasha agreed with a grin. "Think they'll lock it down due to Trapster's attack?"

"Let's hope they do," Clint said, glancing at her. After all, it would be far more fun breaking in, if it were more challenging.


End file.
